1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector for being securely mounted to a printed circuit board and providing more than one grounding path between the electrical connector and the printed circuit board for eliminating noise interference.
2. Prior Art
With the development of computer technology, more and more electrical connectors mounted to a printed circuit board must provide high frequency transmission to achieve better computer performance. Thus electromagnetic or radio frequency interference becomes an important issue for the electrical connector to overcome.
A method for providing a grounding path for discharging residual static electricity from an electrical connector and decreasing interference during data transmission is exemplified by FIG. 3. An electrical connector 7 comprises a dielectric housing 71, a pair of boardlocks 72 and a pair of connecting inserts 73 (only one shown). Each boardlock 72 comprises a substantially square plate 721 and a pair of spaced locking legs 722. An aperture 723 is defined through the square plate 721. Each connecting insert 73 has a barrel 731 extending therefrom with an opening 732 defined therethrough. A recess 711 and a receiving hole 712 are formed in opposite ends of the dielectric housing 71. Each boardlock 72 is securing to the housing 71 by inserting the square plate 721 in the recess 711 and extending the barrel 731 of the connecting insert 73 through the aperture 723 and the receiving hole 712. Thus, the connecting insert 73 secures the boardlock 72 to the housing 71. While transmitting data via an electrical connector, noise interference is commonly absorbed by a shielding shell and discharged to a printed circuit board via a grounding path. The grounding path of the connector 7 is provided by a shielding shell (not labeled), the barrel 731 and the boardlock 72 and directed to the printed circuit board. However, not only is the grounding path too long but it also has a large contact resistance since the grounding path is formed by many elements. If the grounding path is interrupted for some reason, such as by incorrect assembly, the anti-interference function will fail due to the provision of only one grounding path.
Furthermore, in order to achieve the goal of convenient and fast assembly as well as to properly position the connector on the printed circuit board, a guiding apparatus should be provided. With the development of manufacturing automation, most electrical connectors are mounted to a printed circuit board via surface mounting procedures, such as wave soldering or reflowing, whereby the electrical connector of FIG. 3 may not be properly attached to the printed circuit board. Furthermore, manufacturing costs of the connector of FIG. 3 will be increased. The copending application Ser. No. 09/053,417 filed April 1998 and having the same assignee with the invention, also discloses another type prior art connector having retention devices thereof.
An object of this invention is to provide an electrical connector which can overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and disadvantages of the conventional invention.